Terminal



24, 1935 G, F. cAvANAGH Er AL 2,015,590

- I TEMINAL I Filed April 25, 195o mlb, A

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Patented Sept.. 24, 1935 Schultz, Lakewood, Ohio, assignors to The Ohio Rubber Company, Cleveland,v Ohio, a oorpora` tion of Ohio Application April 23, 1930, Serial No. 446,533

4 claim'fvfol. 11a-azar This invention relates generally to electric terminals, and more particularly -to a conductor cord terminal of improved form which is so con- .l structed as to be adapted to fulfill the require-.- ments of various forms of electrical connections. An object of this invention is to provide an improved soft rubber terminal whichis adaptable for universal electrical` connection'` with other terminals. l l0 Another object of this invention is to provide a soft rubber terminal having an adapter fitting removablyA seated therein and Vdeta'chably engaging thecontacts of the terminal. v

The invention may befurtherV briefly suml marized as consisting in certain novel combi-A nations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly' set out inthe appended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings,

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view'showing a conductor cord terminal ,embodying our invention; Fig-2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another conductor cord terminal embodying our invention; Y l

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electrical connection embodying our invention;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevational view showing a still another Iterminal constructed according to our invention; and v Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view, taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 2, and showing the general cross sectional shape of the terminals of our invention.

soft rubber bodies provided withcontact meme bers and adapter fittings so constructed and arranged as to make the terminals adaptable for universal electric connection with contact devices of various shapes.

As shown in Fig. 1, theterminal body III is a socket body which is-constructed of soft rubberof a tough and yielding character. This body isI 45 shaped to provide a tapering extension Il at one end thereof in which the end of the conductor cord i2 is received, and to provide at its opposite end a resilient skirt portion i3 which surrounds the. socket of the body. The wires il of the conductor cord extend into the terminal body and are electrically connected to spring contact members .i5 which are mounted in the body in Arecesses communicating with the socket and formed in the bottom wall thereof. These contacts are disposed in the recesses with their exposed ends substantially flush with the surface of the bottom wall of the socket so that the, contacts lle wholly below the bottom wall of the socket. The contact 'members and the end of the conductor cord may be assembled in place" 5 in preformed openings provided in the body or,

if desired, may be molded into the material at the'time the bodyis formed.

T o adapt this terminal for use with the contact members of an incandescent lamp it, or with 10.

a terminal device having similarly shaped contact members, we provide an adapter iitting or hollow plug il which removably engages inrand substantially fills the socket of -the` body. This adapter fitting is formed of relatively vhard inl5 suiating material, `such as hard rubber, and is provided with a contact member I8 which is constructed in the form ofa threaded socket and is embedded in the insulating material.

At the bottom -of the recess oi the adapter ilt- 20 ting, we provide a contact member I9 which is 4 spaced from the contact membery il by means of the disk `20,' of insulating material, to which the former contact member is secured. The contact. members 4il and I9 are' provided vwith ilat 25 extensionsll which proiectfrom the lend of the adapter fitting and form tongues for detachable.

engagement with thespring contact members i5 of the This adapter nttingis retained l in place .within the socket oi' the body by the 30 gripping engagement of the resilient skirt i3 therewith. To increase the gripping engagement between the resilient skirt and the-.adapter Y ntting, we provide annular beads 22 around the 35 In the drawing illustrating our invention, we

have shown conductor cord terminals havingv the'adapter ntting .from the socket of the body is alsoresisted by the projection or bead 2,3

provided at the outer end 'of the 'resilient skirt. v4o" a This projection or beady extends substantially radially inwardly forming an abutment surface or shoulder 2l' which engages the outer end `,of the adapter fitting.

At the extreme outer end of the resilient skirt 45 an inwardly extending annular lip 2l is preferably formed on the bead 2l as an extension thereof for engagement with the body of the incandescent lamp it. When the `lamp is screwed into the socket-shaped contact member Il, this lip is ol stretched and distorted so that ityieldingly en` .gages the body of the lamp and produces a watertight seal. In addition, the engagement ofv the soft rubber with the glass lamp body resists rotation of the latter and thereby prevents accidental loosening within the adapter socket. This lip also shields the contacts of the terminal against accidental touching which might result in a short circuit or in injury lto persons handling the with those described in detail in connection with- Fig. 1. To adapt this terminal for connection with an electrically operated machine or the like,

which is provided with terminal contact members similar in form to the contact members 26, we provide an adapter fitting 21 which removably engages in and substantially fills the socket of the body. This adapter fitting comprises a substantially cylindrical block or plug of relatively hard insulating material, such as hard rubber, and elongated flat contact members 28 extending therethrough. When the adapterA fitting is in place in the socket of the body, the contact members 28, extending from one end of the fitting, detachably engage the contact members 26 of the body, while at the opposite end of the adapter fitting, the exposed portions of the contact members 28 are available for detachable engagement with other contact members.

As seen in Fig. 2, the .skirt 25 of the body 25 is provided at its outer end with an internal annular bead 26' similar to the internal annular bead 23 of the body I0 of Fig. 1. 'Ihe annular bead 26 provides' an abutment surface or shoulder 21' which engages the adapter fitting 21 to assist in retaining the latter in the socket.

In Fig. 3 of the drawing, we have shown an electrical connection comprising two of the terminais of our invention, detachably secured together in close contact. In this arrangement, we have shown conductor cord terminal bodies 29 and 30 provided, respectively, with contact members 3| and 32. These bodies and contact members, in shape and arrangement, are substantially identical with the shape and arrangement already described in detail in connection with Fig. 1. For securing the soft rubber terminals 29 and 30 together with their outer ends in close contact, we

lemploy an adapter fitting 33 having plug end portions which removably engage in and substantially ll the sockets of the bodies. Between these plug end portions, the adapter fitting is of reduced diameter to provide the channel 34 into which the internal annular radial projections or beads 35, at the outer ends of the bodies, extend. These projectionsV form abutments 34' whichr engage shoulders 35' formed'by the side wallsrof the channel 34 of the adapter fitting and prevent separation of the bodies from each other and disengagement from the adapter tting. For electrically connecting the contact members of the terminal 29 with the contact members ofthe terminal 30, we provide elongated contact members 36, which extend through the adapter fitting for detachable engagement with the contact members of the terminals. It will be seen that in this arrangement, the terminal bodies 29 and 30 are held in close contact forming a water-proof electrical connection.

l In the vterminal which we have illustrated in Fig. 4, we have provided the soft rubber body 31 with contact members 38 of somewhat diflerent form than the contact members of the terminals shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3. These contact members are constructed in the form of round metallic sleeves in which are mounted hollow sleeves 39 of smaller diameter. The sleeves 39 are split longitudinally thereof fora portion of their length, thereby providing cooperating resilient arcuate fingers. For use with this terminal, we have provided an adapter fitting 40 which is similar in form to the adapter shown in Fig. 2 with the exception that the contact members 4| which extend through the fitting are round in shape 10 for detachable cooperation with the resilient arcuate fingers of the contact members mounted in the terminal body.

If desired, the terminal bodies shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 may be constructed with an internal 15 annular extension or lip 42 which is formed as a part of the internal annular bead at the outer end of the skirt similar to the lip 24 shown in Fig. l. This lip 42 does not ordinarily cooperate with the adapter fittings 21, 33 and 40 which are 20 shown respectively in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, but is available for cooperation with an incandescent lamp when such a device is to be applied to the soft'rubber body rmly engages the adapter fit- 30.

ting so that accidental separation of these parts is prevented. Furthermore, terminals of this form of construction are substantially waterproof, and are not easily damaged by shocks or blows. 85

While we have shown and described the device of our invention in a detailed manner, it should be understood, however, that we do not intend to limit ourselves to the precise details shown and described, but regard our invention as including 40 such changes and modifications as do not involve a departure from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims. Having thus described our invention, what'ave claim is: 45 l. A terminal fitting for electrical conductors comprising a body member formed of soft rubber and having a socket therein, said body member being provided with a resilient skirt forming the side wall of the socket and with a recess communicating with and formed in the bottom wall of said socket, a contact element mounted in said recess and lying wholly below said bottom wall, a second body member formed of insulating material and shaped to substantially fill said socket, said second body member being gripped by said resilient skirt whereby the second body member is removably retained in said socket and-contact means carried by said second body member including a part projecting from? said second body member at one side thereof and extending into said recess and detachably engaging the first mentioned contact element and another. part accessible at the other side of said second bodymember and electrically connected with said projecting part.

2. A terminal' fitting for electrical conductors comprising a body member formed of soft rubber l and having a socket; therein, said body member socket, a contact element mounted in said recess,

said skirt having an internal annular bead thereon providing a reduced opening into said socket substantiallyat the outer end thereof and also providing an annular shoulder inwardly of such bead, and a second bodylmember shaped to substantially fill said socket, said second body member being gripped by said resilient skirt and engaged by the shoulder of said internal annular bead wherebythe second body member ls removably retained in said socket, and contact means carried by said second body member including a part projecting fromsaid second body member at oneside thereof and extending into said recess and detachably engaging the rst mentioned contact element and another part accessible at the other side of said second body member and electrically connected with said projecting part.

3. An electrical connection comprising a pair of terminal bodies formed of soft rubber and each having a socket therein, each of said bodies being provided with a resilient skirt forming the sideV .of such terminal body, said connecting member being provided with an annular groove intermediate the connected body portions into which the internal annular beads of said skirts extend, said annular beads being formed with shoulders thereon which engage the opposite walls of said annular groove, and contact means having a portion thereof embedded in said connecting member and outwardly projecting portions extending into the recesses of said terminal `bodies and detachably engaging the contact elements therein.

4. A terminal-itting for electrical conductors comprising in combination a body member formed of soft rubber and having a socket thereinfsaid body member beingprovided with a resilient skirt forming the side wall of the socket and with a recess communicating with and formed in the bottom wall of said socket, a contact element mounted in said recess, lsaid skirt having an internal annular bead thereon providing a reduced l opening into said socket adjacent the outer end thereof and also providing an annular shoulder inwardly of such bead, aY second body member formed of insulating material and shaped to substantially llt said socket, said second body member y being gripped by said resilient skirt and engaged by the shoulder of said bead whereby the second body member is removably retained in said socket, and contact means carried by said second body member including4 a part projecting from the second body member at one side thereof and extending nto said recess and detachably engaging the first mentioned contact therein and another part accessible at the other side of said second body member and electrically connected with said projecting. part, the first mentioned body member being also provided with an internal annular' ange thereon outwardly of said internal bead.

GERALD F. CAVANAGH. HOWARD W. scHUL'rz. 

